Hydraulic drive



o. N. BRA'rvoLD Feb. l, 1927.

HYDRAULIC DRIVE 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fld March 6 Feb. 1, 1927.

HYDRAULI C DRIVE o 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March e', 192e itI is PatentedFeb. l, 1927.

UNiTED STATES OSCAR N. BRATVOLD, F WAYZATA, MINNESOTA..

HYDRAULIC DRIVE. n

i applicati@ mea March e, 19'26. `semi No. 92,724.

This invention relates to a transmission device, and (particularly tosuchl a device using a liqui as a transmitting medium between certainpa-rts thereof. While the invention is applicable to various structures,articularly designed for driving one part rom another and has a highdegree of utility when used as a transmission mechanism between themotor of an automobile and the parts driven thereby. In the modernautomobile the motor is connected and disconnected from the transmissionmechanism by a clutch, and a set of speed changing and reversing gearsare usuall employed to give several forward spee s and one or morereverse speeds.

It is an object of this invention toprovide a hydraulic or liquidtransmission device adapted, among other uses, to be used between themotor and transmission mechanism of an automobile comprising a drivenmember and a driving member, the driven member being impelled by valiquid and adapted to be driven at variousv speeds.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a transmission devicecomprising a rotatable member in the form of a casing or drum, having aninternal periphery with vanes thereon and a rotatable member with anexternal periphery provided with passages thereat and adjacent saidvanes, adapted to be driven'by said first mentioned member, a stationarymember being provided having passages therethrough, said first mentionedmember containing a liquid form- .ing the connecting means between saidrotatable members, which liquid is circulated through said stationarymember, said casing formed by said first mentioned member being'provided with a valve adapted to open a vent from said casing either todrain the' same or to regulatethe amount of the oil therein.

lt is more specifically an object of the invention to provide a evice asSet forth in the preceding paragraph, which members are surrounded by acasing adapted to contain oil, together with operating means for saidvalve and means for supplying oil to said casing formed by said firstmentioned member through said stationary member.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fullyset forth in the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to thesame parts' throughout the ditferentxviews and in which v Fig. 1 isaview in central vertical section throu h the device, showing an oilreservoir in si e elevation; j

Fig. 2 is a partial view in front elevation of one of the members withthe valve carried thereby;

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 lookingin the directioi of the arrow at the top of said figure, an

Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section also taken on line 3 3 of Fig. l,looking in the iirection of the arrow at the bottom of said Referring tothe drawings, a. casing 5 is shown, which preferabl will be of thedivided type such as ordmarily used for the crank casing ofanvautomobile engine and connected through the lugs 5 by suitable bolts6. Casing 5 may be provided with a base 5b provided with suitable holes5 by which it may be attached to the frame or engine block. Casing 5preferably is open at one end and a plate like member 7 is provided,adapted to close said end and be held in place by suitable cap screws 8extending into circumferentially spaced lugs on casing 5. The member 7has a central hub a bored to have journaled therein the'hub 9il of therotatable member v9 disposed in casing 5,`

which member 9 has a disk like side portion and a circumferentiallyextend-ino liange 9b. The member9 thus forms a shell or drum and saidmember is closed by a plate 10 secured to the outer end of flange 9b bycircumferentially spaced screws preferably having their headscountersunk in the plate 10. The member'9 has a plurality oftransversely extending vanes or ianges 9c projectin inwardly from theinternal perlphery o ange 9". In the embodiment of the inventionillustrated, member 9 constitutes a driving member and may be the HyWheel of an automobile engine. Said member shown as keyed to a drivingshaft 11 and while this 'shaft may be variously driven, it mayconstitute the crank shaft of an automobile engine. Disposed adjacentthe member 9 and within the same, is another rotatable member 12. Member12 has a shaft 12a projecting toward member 9 journaled in the bore andhub 9a and said member 12 has another shaft 12" projecting from itsopposite side, journaled in a stationary mem- Ward member 12 and haveinner openin ber 13, to be later described. The member i 12 issubstantially in the form of a. disk and is provided at its externalperiphery with a mult-i licity of passages 12C, which passages exteneircumferentially and inwardly to said disk as shown in Fig. 3 and havesurrounding walls 12d with their faces on substantiall radial lines 12,the edges of said walls belng in the plane of the lines 12" and thepassages 12c having openings which are directed substantiallycircumferentially or tangentially of the periphery of member 12. Thepassages 12c extend inwardly of member 12 and then laterally away fromthe member 9 and have inner openings 12f `through the side of member 12.The sta- Vtionary member 13 has a hub at one end journaled in the. hub5d of casing 5 and kept from rotation by set screw 14 threaded lintosaid hub. The member 13 has a disk like portion 13 co-axial with andclosely adjacent the member 12, said portion 13l being of somewhatsmaller diameter than member 12. Said member 13n has a multiplicity ofpassages 13b at its outer portion separated by the partitions 13c whichextend inwardly in curved form, the outer ends of passages 13b thusbeing directed substantially tangentially and between the walls thereofat each side of member 13". Said passages 13b also extend laterally attheir inner portions to- 13d alining radially with the openings 12t 1nthe member 12. It will be noted that the vanes 9c extend fartherinwardly at one end so that they are spaced substantially the samedistance from the outer edges of the members 12 and 13a. The member 13ahas an intermediate hub portion 13t of greater diameter than that of thehub portion carried in hub 5d and passage 13B extends through thisintermediate hub having its inner end at the inner face of member 13 andopening into the space between member 12 and 13a. A. conduit or pipe 15is connected to the outer end of passage 13e and extends through casing5, said pipe communicating with an oil reservoir 1G to be laterdescribed. A valve 15 is disposed in pipe 15 Within the casing 5 adaptedto open and close said pipe and is provided with an operating lever 17connected by a link 18 to ar lug on an operating rino' 19 disposed in a.groove in a collar 20 slidable on the intermediate hub of member 13. Thering 19Ihas an operating bar 21 connected thereto slidable through oneend of the casing 5 and also shown as gulded 1n and slidable in thebearing 22 secured to one side of the gear casing 23. The collar has aplurality of ,projecting lugs or arms 20IL having pivotally connectedthereto the slotted ends of bell crank levers 24 journaled in suitablebrackets 10a carried by the late 10. The other arms of the bell crankevers 24 are pivotally connected t9 links 25 which are in 'turnpivotally connected to slide valves 26 mounted in guide members2'7'secured at opposite sides of the plate 10, said valves 26 beingadapted to close and uncover the openings 1()b formed through plate 10adjacent the inner periphery of the flange 9b and the vanes 9. While anynumber of the valves 26 may be used, in the embodiment of the inventionillustrated, two of the same are shown. Conduit 28 extends into casing 5and has an enlarged open ended mont-h 28a disposed closely adjacent theex` ternal periphery of flange 9". Pipe 28 communieates at its other endwith the top of the oil reservoir 16, which reservoir will be suitablysupported at aheight above that of passage 13. The shaft 12b hasl aythrust collar 29 pinned or otherwise secured thereto, which forms oneend of the thrust bearing the other end of which will be formed in orsupported by the outer endL ofthe hub 5, suitable anti-friction memberssuch as the balls 30 being shown between members 29 and 5d. Vhen thetransmission device is used with an automobile, it is desirable to have'a reverse speed mechanism and for this purpose the gear lcasing 23 isprovided into which shaft 12@l projects, which shaft has secured theretoin said gear casing, the gear 31 having a groove 31a adapted to receivea shift lever and having a half clutch 31b thereon adapted to engage anddrive a half clutch 32 carried on shaft 33. The end of shaft 12b isreduced and shown as journaled in the end of the transmission shaft 33journaled in the wall of casing 23 and the nearing 23Et therein. Shaft33 has secured thereto the gear 34. A jack shaft 35 is journaled in hubsin the wall of casing 23 and carri-es the gear 36 having a wide face andadapted to mesh withv gear 34 and also the gear 37 adapted to mesh withgear 31. The gears 36 and 37 are shown as integrally connected and-theshift collar 36 is disposed therebetween, adapted to be moved bysuitable shift lever (not shown) so that gears 36 and 37v can be shiftedlongitudinally of shaft 35. A gear 3S is provided in casing 23 having ashaft journaled in the wall of casing 23 and held in place by a suitablepin 39 forming an idler gear ada ted to mesh witlrgears 37 and 31, thusgivingT a reversedrive to shaft 33. :i

In operation, with the'device assembled as described, oil will be placedin reservoir 16. This oil naturally will fiow through the ipe 15 intopassage 13 and into the space etween members 13 and 12, which oil willHow to the bottom of member 9. Member 9 will be driven from the shaft 11and the vanes 9e Will sweep this oil around the member 12. The oil willimpinge against the walls 12d of passages 12 so that member 12 will bedriven. If there is oil in the meml0?? 9 1.50 the depth 0f the Width ofvanes 9,

lll

a great driving effect will be transmitted to against the motor 12 andits walls 12d will be directed inwardly in the passa es 12 as shown bythe arrows inFigs. 1 an 3. This oil will pass out at the inner ends 12tof said passages and will bedriven across .into the openings 13d ofpassages 13h and will .be directed outwardly of the vpassages 13". Thepassages 13", of course, are stationary and the oil will again come inbetween the vanes 9 and be carried therewith and again driven againstthe member 12. It will be noted that the oil is given an impulse by thepassages 13b in the direction of rotation of members 9 and 12. The moreoil in the member 9 up to a certainpoint, the greater will be the.driving power of member 9. The amountof oil carried in the member 9 maybe regulated by an adjustment of the valve 2,6 through the member 21.lVhen the de vice is installed in an'automobile, the member 21 will beoperated by a pedal or other lever so that a quick and accurate controlis had of the valves 26. As the valves 26 move outwardly through theoperation of the collar 20 and bell crank levers 24, Iit will be seenthat the openings 10"' will be uncovered from their inner ends.' Thevalves 26 can be moved to entirely uncover the openings 10", at whichtime all the oil will be thrown out of and be drained from member 9. Theoil leaving member 9 is retained in the crank case 5. -The revolution ofmember 9 incasing 5 will carry some of the oil around therewith and thesame will be thrown into the mouth of pipe 28. If desired, the outerside of member 9 could be provided with a roughened surface or smalltransverse ribs which would assist in taking up the oil. The oil willfall by gravity into the reservoir 16, from which it can again besupplied to the member 9. When the valves 26 are moved to drain themember 9, the valves 17 will be operated so that no oil can enterthrough pipe 15l when the valves 26 are substantially opened. The speedand power transmitted to member 12 by member'9 can be regulated bymovement .of the valve 26 by means of a rod 21. All speeds in onedirection will therefore be taken care of by adjustment of the valves 26through the movement' of rod 21'. When the device is applied -to avehicle such as an automobile, 1t is desirable to have a reverse speedand this is obtained througlrt-he medium of gears 31 and 38 and thegears on shaft 35. As shown in Fig. 1 the gears are set for this reversespeed and shaft 33 will be driven in a direction opposite to shaft 12athrough the idler gear 38. For forward speeds the gears 36 and 3L willbe shifted to the left as shown in Fig. 1, so that gear 311s clutched t0member 32 and thus to shaft 33. Motion will thus be' transmitted fromshaft 12 through'gear 31 to shaft 33.

The gears can also be moved to neutral position by movement to the rightof gears 36 and 37 to bring gears 36 and 37 out of -msh 1'e3pectivelwith gears 34 and 38. )n

account of the clrculation of oil through the stationar member 13, therewill be a eavy thrust o member 12 to the right as shown ila-Fig.r 1 andfor this purpose the thrust collar 29 and members 30 are provided.

With the devicey shown and described ap-` plied to an automobile, noother or mechanical clutch will be necessary and no change of gears forforward speeds will be necessary. The forward speeds will be determinedby the load and by the adjustment of valves- With the certain amount ofoil in the member 9 the device will only be capable of delivering acertain amount of power and if the load exceed this, the driven member12 will cease to rotate. With the given load and given amount of oil inthe member 9 and a constant speed of the engine, the speed of thevehicle will be constant. When it is desired to stop the vehicle, therod 21 will be moved to completely open the valves 26. The oil inmember/9 w1ll` be thrown and rdrained therefrom and valve 16 will be`closed so that no more oil can get into the member 9. The driving forceis thus removed from the transmission gearing and the vehiclecan bestopped as usual with the brakes. It is really not necessary to have aneutral position for the transmission gearing, as the device is inneutral or non-driving position when member 9 is drained. It issometimes, however, desirable touse the neutral osition of the device.The rotation of memger 9 will, 'of course, always provide plenty of oilin reservoir 16.

From the above description it is seen that applicant has provided quitea simple and very eiicient transmission device and one having a highdegree of utility when used for driving vehicles. The drive is veryflexible and the same greatly safeguards the transmission mechanism ofthe vehicle and prevents undue stress thereon.

cent the motor on the modern automobile.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, de-

tails, arrangement and proportions of thepa-rts, without departing fromthe scope of applicants invention, which. generally stated, consists ina device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, inthe AThe device is quite compact and easily installed adjaand the otherhaving an yexternal periphery vthe other a driven member, a stationarymember adjacent said last mentioned member and having an externalperiphery with channels leading therefrom and having inner ends adaptedto receive from the inner ends of said passages, said irst mentionedmember. vforming a casing enclosing said other members and containingliquid, whereby rotation of one of said first mentioned members willrotate the other and said liqf uid will be circula-ted through saidstationary member.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 and a valve on said firstmentioned member adjacent its internal periphery'adapted to pro-A videan opening throughsaid casing extending more or less from saidperiphery.

3. A liquid transmission device having in combination, a rotatable drumhaving an interior perphery with circumferentially spaced liquiimpelling means thereon, a rotatable member co-axial with said drumhaving an external periphery adjacent said means and provided with a.plurality ofcircumferentially spaced pockets, said pockets extendinginwardly of said last mentioned member and opening `at one side thereof,a stationary member mounted adjacent said last mentioned member and ofsmaller diameter, said stationary member having a series of passages inits external periphe open at their outer ends and extending t rough theside of said member, adjacent said last mentioned rotatable member,whereby liquid is' circulated through said stationary member and saidrotatable member is driven.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3, said" passages in said stationarymember having their kouter ends directed oppositely to the outer ends ofsaid pockets. v

5. The structure set forth lin claim 3, means forsu plying 1i uid tosaid rotatable members, an regulatab e means for the exit of liquid fromsaid drum.

6. The structure set forth in claim 3, a plurality of valves adjacentAthe internal periphery of said drum, a conduit for supplying liquid tosaid drum, means for lInoving said valves land means for closing saidconduit when said valves are substantially o en.

7. A liquid transmission device comprising a pair of rotatable members,one lof which has liquid propelling means adjacent its periphery and theother of which has adjacent its periphery, substantially tangentiallydirected passages extending inwardly thereof, adapted to receive liquidpropelled by said means, the first one of said members constituting adriving member and the other a driven member, a stationary' memberadjacent said last mentioned member and having outwardly extendingchannels therein having their inner ends adapted to receive from theinner ends of said passages, said members beingconstructed and arran edto have liquid retained thereabout where y rotation of the first one ofsaid first mentioned members -will rotate the other and said liquid willbe circulated through said stationary member. A

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature. e

OSCAR N. BRATvoLD.

